Madison times., 1887-01-01

betrayed his trust, that the packet was gone
and give him back the key.
But the night would not grow dark; the har.
vcst-moon shone brightly, and lovely sub
dued light fingered in the sky. Ny every
pulse thrilled with impatience. What if Lady
Caryl should be seized with a sudden cap ice
to see for herself what the papers containedi
My plan Of seli-sacrifice would be vain then.
All, no, my loye-I would rather be buried
alive with the packet in my arms
| listened, with my heart throbbing pain
fully, on the grand staircase where stood q
marble statue of the goddess Flora with a
basket Of roses at her feet There was no
sound, except Of music from the drawing
room, where Lady Aditha was singing. The
servants seemed to be all in their own part of
the house; there was no one to see or TO hear.
The moonlight streamed through the windows
of the hall, and lay in great white patches on
the staircase; it silverei the roses at the god
dess's feet; and by its light crept slowly,
quietly down stairs, thinking as went of the
night when l had followed the light of the
Christmas star
Preached Lady Caryl's bnudor There was
no light, except that Of the moon, which fell
silver white across the buhl cabinet. With a
quickly beating heart l unlocked the door.
There the papers lay, untouched In silence
/ took them away.
What should do with the precious packet ,
1t must be destroyed; but it W S not an easy
thing to do. Even if l tore the letters into
shreds there would still be the remnants
4
! had access; | could not go to the kitchen.
A sudden idea came 10 NE. ! would take the
package just as it was, fasten heavy stone to
it, and fling is into the depths of the river
Dale.
The idea delighted me. I wrapped a shawl
round my head ald shoulders, and holding
the packet tightly in nv hand went out. As
passed the door of the large conservatory, /
saw by the light of the moon the shadow of a
as FASTENED along.
How fair the landscape was, the moon shin
ing upon the turf and upon the leaves of the
trees which rustled gently in the wind The
calm brooding silence Of night lay around me
as walked on lesurely. There was no need
to hurry now had the packet in my hand,
and the river Dale was shining in the distance
At length | reached the bank and stood for
some moments looking down At the water that
would be the grave Of my hopes, that would
roll over the proofs of nv birth and my for
tune, sacrificed for the sake of my love.
Presently l sat down upon the grass and
tried to realize how Sir Adrian would look If
he knew all. How his blue eyes would
brighten, yet reproach me- How his face
would change from grave to glad and back
TO grave again! Never shall | forget the
beauty, the serenity Of those few minutes 1
spent by the banks of the river in the moon
light, with the papers in my hand.
Then l found heavy stone, and fastened
1t In nv apron; the weight was quite sufficient
to sink much larger parcel than the one l
held in my hands. l walked with 1t slowly to
the waters edge, / kissed it. Farewell to
name, to fortune, to every hope in this world,
for my loves sake-for my loves sake. fare
WE'LL And, as raised my arm to fling the
parcel into the stream, cried, "For my loves
sake" And then-shall ever forget the
horror Of that momentl-a hand seized mine,
and took the parcel from me.
What are YOU doing, Gracia!" exclaimed a
voice that chilled my heart. 1t was Sir Ad-
rian.
| staggered back white, trembling, and
faint. For some moments | could not recover
myself; and then broke into a wild passion
of tears.
''Oh, give IT to me- Sir Adrian ~ impIored.
81 pray you, for Heavens sake, give it to me :"
Il must know what it is, Gracia; / cannot
let this go on. | have a suspicion that it is
connected with yourself, and must
satisfy myself
In my despair sank upon my knees at his
feet
Il beseech you, give 1t to me. cried.
''For my sake, or your own sake, for Heavens
sakel shall 90 mad if you touch it!'
He looked at me.
81 could refuse you nothing that was reason
able; but in this instance must be master; 1
must know what this is"
When heard his tone, when saw the ex-
preston on his face, l knew all was over, and
sank sobbing upon the grass.
Il am grieved to distress you, Gracia" he
cannot bear the sight Of your
tears; but must protect you against your
self"
By the light Of the moon I saw him unite
the parcel and take out the great stone and
throw it away. saw him take out the papers
and scan them. / could hear the rustling of
page after page-the certificates, my fathers
letter, aLd finally the will Then I became
1t seemed to me that the moon
and the stars fell TO earth, that the river rose
and swept me away.
When my eyes opened at last, I saw neither
moon nor river-only the face of the man
Owed bending over mine, with look in his
Eyes TO have won which I would have laid
iown my life.
'Gracia, be was saving, 'Gracia, my noble,
generous darling! Gracia, open our eyes and
ook at me"
Then sat up gazing at him with dim won
iering eyes.
''Gracia," be said passionately, ''what have
Tou to tell me! know everything. You
would have deprived yourself of name and
fortune. Why-tell me whyl"
And answered him
''For your sake. could not bear that your
oss should be my gain
When the words had passed nv lips, II
seemed 10 me that the river rose again and
,arried me away. When came back to life,
here was no river in sight, my love with the
'onnie blue eyes had disappeared, and was
ying in a room that was strange to me. The